Pre-Gamin’: Vikings at Bears – Lineups, Broadcast Info, Game Thread

Not to be fatalistic, but something is going to go wrong for the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football.

However, it’s how Mitch Trubisky and his teammates respond that will dictate how things turn out at the end of the day.

Let’s allow ourselves to set some expectations for Trubisky’s debut.

There will be some good to come from the rookie. His mobility should open up some running lanes because linebackers will have to account for a quarterback who can make a play on the move. Further, his ability to move around should open up some different throwing windows that previously weren’t available to Mike Glennon who was limited to the pocket.

Of course, this cuts both ways. Trubisky’s athleticism should lead to some plays being made downfield, but that comes with potential turnover risk – especially against a secondary as talented and accomplished as the Vikings.

At some point, Trubisky’s inexperience will show up. He will make a questionable throw into coverage, and we will cringe. There could be a false start that comes as a result of not being familiar with his cadence or a delay of game because of some crossed up signals.

To be clear, there is a lot to be excited moving on from Glennon and heading into the Trubisky era. However, we should also note that – even if he is as good as we think he can be – it’s not always going to look like a masterpiece.

For the record, I’m thinking this is what his line will look like at the end of the game: 17/25, 221 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, 92.3 rating.

Game Info

Minnesota Vikings (2-2, 3rd NFC North) at Chicago Bears (1-3, 4th NFC North) – 7:30 p.m., ESPN, WGN-TV (Sean McDonough, Jon Gruden, Lisa Salters), WBBM-AM 780, WCFS-FM 105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Zach Zaidman); Westwood One Radio (Kevin Harlan, Boomer Esiason, Scott Kaplan)

Odds: Vikings (-4), Over/Under 41 via Bovada.

Game Thread and Week 4 Preview

Your game thread is down in the comments, so let’s have some good, clean (safe-for-work) fun. And hopefully, we can watch the start of a winning streak.

Your Week 4 Preview lives here.

Coaches

John Fox (129-115 overall, 10-26 with Bears) vs. Mike Zimmer (28-24 with Vikings)

Starting Quarterbacks

Bears: Mitch Trubisky (preseason): 364 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 67.9 completion percentage, 106.2 rating

versus

Vikings: Sam Bradford (Week 1): 346 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 84.4 completion percentage, 143.0 rating

Bears Inactives

CB Marcus Cooper

QB Mark Sanchez

RB Taquan Mizzell

LB Nick Kwiatkoski

C Hroniss Grasu

DL John Jenkins

LB Willie Young

Bears Expected Offensive Starters

QB Mitch Trubisky

RB Jordan Howard

FB Michael Burton

WR Kendall Wright

WR Markus Wheaton

TE Dion Sims

LT Charles Leno Jr.

LG Josh Sitton

C Cody Whitehair

RG Kyle Long

RT Bobby Massie

Bears Expected Defensive Starters

DE Akiem Hicks

NT Eddie Goldman

DE Mitch Unrein

OLB Pernell McPhee

ILB Christian Jones

ILB John Timu

OLB Leonard Floyd

CB Kyle Fuller

CB Prince Amukamara

FS Eddie Jackson

SS Adrian Amos

Bears Specialists

Connor Barth (kicker), Pat O’Donnell (punter, holder), Andrew DePaola (long snapper), Deonte Thompson (kick returner), Tarik Cohen (punt returner)

Vikings Offense Expected Starters:

QB Sam Bradford

RB Latavius Murray

FB C.J. Ham

WR Stefon Diggs

WR Adam Thielen

TE Kyle Rudolph

LT Riley Reiff

LG Nick Easton

C Pat Elflein

RG Joe Berger

RT Mike Remmers

Vikings Defense Expected Starters:

DE Danielle Hunter

NT Linval Joseph

DT Tom Johnson

DE Everson Griffen

OLB Ben Gedeon

MLB Eric Kendricks

OLB Anthony Barr

CB Trae Waynes

CB Xavier Rhodes

FS Harrison Smith

SS Andrew Sendejo

Vikings Specialists:

Kai Forbath (kicker), Ryan Quigley (punter), Kevin McDermott (long snapper), Jerick McKinnon (kick returns), Marcus Sherels (punt returns)